4 Answers
4

Kabbalistic sources about beards, or about spiritually-destructive forces involved in removing a beard. Much ink has been spilled over how much facial hair was worn by the kabbalist Rabbi Menachem Azariah of Fano.

The Tzemach Tzedek (the 3rd Lubavitcher Rebbe) was of the opinion that you're trying to look feminine by removing your beard, which violates the prohibition on cross-dressing.

The practical:

Men are prohibited from shaving their jaw line ("five corners of the face", more or less) with a razor. So until a few decades ago, your only options were a scissors (which could trim your beard but not really eliminate it altogether) or depilatory powder (a strong base that would dissolve the hair). Today, most Americans follow the opinion of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (and others) that most electric shavers are considered "scissors", not razors as they can't cut at 0 rpm; but some (such as Chazon Ish) disagree.

There are various times in the year when shaving, haircuts, and other grooming are frowned-upon for men. (E.g. the three weeks commemorating the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.) Thus growing a beard all the time was just easier.

+1. @ShimonbM, to not have a beard, most men need to shave daily or so. To not have unruly hair or toenails, most men need to cut them far less often.
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msh210♦Apr 15 '13 at 16:09

I'm thinking "the Tzemach Tzedek ruled" might be a better phrasing. Right now it seems like a Rebbishe/Chassidishe "feeling" when it was instead a psak halacha (which is, as you noted, debated). (My two cents, thoughts?)
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HodofHodApr 16 '13 at 4:38

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@HodofHod Wait, I thought the Tzemach Tzedek's issue was with scissors as a form of gilach, not that it was beged isha. The former could still apply today, but the latter is very hard to argue for in today's world.
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Double AA♦Apr 16 '13 at 6:43

The gmara in Shabbat 152a, says that the splendor of man's face is the beard הדרת פנים זקן. That's the natural and whole looks of the Israeli man, as R Yehonatan Aibeshitz mentions in Ya'art Dvash, part A.

The daily shaving is bothersome and causes bitul torah (not learning torah at that time).

Whoever shaves daily, on Shabbat he cannot. So on Shabbat he's Menuval - not tidy. Same happens on holidays and Shabbats of Ben HaMetzarim and during Sfirat HaOmer.

Even today, with the electric shavers, it isn't trivial that it's allowed to shave using them. Many Rabbis have ruled against it. Even those that approved it, stated that the machine oughtn't be pressed strongly to the skin and the skin oughtn't be stretched. New machines with new techniques for making the shave closer to the skin make their Halachich approval even harder.

@msh210 If so it's called in English then be it. In Hebrew, OTOH, I humbly disagree with Wikipedia that translates Isralite as בן ישראל. It's explicit that an Israelite is also called ישראלי, as in בן האשה הישראלית. And there are well many examples in Orthodox Jewish literature for that, and it's also used in everyday Hebrew in Israel (I should know...).
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yairApr 25 '13 at 21:02

The book "Haderet Panim" a 400 plus page book about the beard which deals mainly with the halachic sources, citing Gemarrah, Minhag, Ktuvim and some sources in Zohar quote the Ari Z"L as saying that :
"The hairs of the head are tzinaros of tumah while the hair of the beard are tzinaros of Kedusha.Tzinaros being "vessles". Modern biology 400 years later showed also that human hair is hollow like a drinking straw.

I am simply mentioning what the Holy Ari said. On him is your comment.As for the book "haderet HaPanim" a very large group of Torah Jews got together around 1982 and published the 400 plus page book of sources (which I mentioned) and subsidized the publication so that the book then cost me 4 (four) shekels to buy. My point was only to make Parve the book lest someone jest (Chas v Chalilah) on my only mentioning the Holy Ari....and they that can understand will understand.
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user269026Aug 12 '14 at 19:01

I'm just not sure you are applying the quote correctly in context.
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Double AA♦Aug 12 '14 at 19:02